By Erin Free
America is currently being overrun by Australian actors, and one of our most talented but unsung internationalists is unquestionably Alex Russell. After getting noticed on debut in the searing Australian youth drama, Wasted On The Young, the Rockhampton-born actor was snapped up by Hollywood, booking one of the lead roles in Josh Trank’s surprise superhero hit, Chronicle. Since then, Russell has bounced between major Hollywood pics (Carrie, The Host, Unbroken) and low budget Aussie efforts (Cut Snake, the upcoming Goldstone), and has just wrapped shooting on Jungle, an adaptation of Yossi Ghinsberg’s true life Bolivian-set adventure book directed by Greg Mclean (Wolf Creek) and co-starring Daniel Radcliffe. “I loved this experience,” Russell tells FilmInk via email. “I love adventure films. I also love films with remarkably resilient and convicted characters. Jungle is both. I rafted through rapids in Colombia, hiked around Mt. Tamborine, and was honoured with the chance to play an amazing human being, and a real life hero. It was a blessing. Also, Greg McLean is an awesome director. He allowed all of us to play and improvise. It made for a very free environment.”
Despite his dance card being close to full, Alex Russell has also been drilling deep with his production company, Five Lip, which he established with Ande Cunningham, James Elliott, Sarah-Jane McAllan, and David O’Donnell, all of whom went through Australia’s top performing arts schools. “We all met at NIDA except for David O’Donnell, who is a WAAPA grad whom we met outside of drama school,” Russell explains. “There is a huge wealth of talent at these schools, but one finds oneself gravitating towards specific artists and creatives. A pattern forms, you can’t get enough of working together and sharing the adventure, and before you know it, you’re going, ‘We should come up with a name!’ We challenge each other, ask difficult questions of each other, and hold each other high and strong. I love it and am so grateful for it.”
The company has already produced two shorts – Love And Dating In LA, which marked Russell’s directorial debut, and Raker, from director, Ande Cunningham, and producer, Sarah-Jane McAllan – and will this very weekend see the first major screening of their latest short, Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees, again directed by Cunningham and produced by McAllan, at The St. Kilda Film Festival. A surreal parable about six human batteries who rise up against their tyrant ruler, the short stars Alex Russell, James Elliott, David O’Donnell, Josh McConville (The Infinite Man), and the in-demand Sarah Snook (Predestination, The Dressmaker, Steve Jobs), and involves art, sand, imprisonment, and oranges. “When I first read Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees, I was reminded once again of my love for Ande Cunningham’s weird and beautiful mind,” says Russell. “I also was struck by how ambitious it was both conceptually and logistically. But Ande’s never been one to dream small. His first short, Raker, was made possible partly by selling his car in order to fund our special effects budget. So I knew that he could make Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees a reality.”
What was the biggest challenge in making Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees? “The sand,” Russell replies. “The set made of sand. We were all positioned into what can only be described as upright stocks, with our heads and hands secured in the holes. Sand was then poured all around us, and we were buried up to our necks in it. It wasn’t easy on the bladder, but it made for an hilarious day on set. We were all in it together.”
While he has some interesting acting projects in the pipeline (Izzy Gets The F*ck Across Town with Mackenzie Davis and Alia Shawkat, and Any Girl Who Loves The Beatles Is Bound To Break Your Heart with Tamsin Egerton), Russell is also looking forward to Five Lip’s move into feature filmmaking. “We have several features in the works, including Sons Of Salt written by David O’Donnell,” Russell offers. “The film has been developed with the assistance of Screen Australia, is being directed by Jonathan Teplitzky [The Railway Man, Gettin’ Square], and has been nominated for several awards at script level, including being a shortlisted finalist for the Australians In Film screenplay competition and the Page awards. We’re very excited!”
Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees screens at The St. Kilda Film Festival on Sunday, May 22. For all information on tickets, venues, and session times, click here. For more on Oranges Don’t Grow On Trees, head to the film’s Facebook page. For more on Five Lip, head to the production company’s website.
